Cape Town - Ajax Cape Town’s under-19 team’s performance over the past fortnight in Amsterdam, which saw them lift two trophies in eight days, could not have been achieved without the safe hands of its goalkeeper, Jody February.
February, from Strandfontein, helped his side win the NextGen Series competition last week, and the Esad Osmanovski Memorial Cup on Sunday.
Ajax beat England’s Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final of the NextGen Series and then February saved four penalties in the shootout against Brazil’s Atlético Paranaense as the Urban Warriors’ junior team won 6-4.
“I feel good about winning the two tournaments in Amsterdam, and I’m proud of helping the team achieve this. My experience has paid off.”
February started playing soccer at an early age. “I was 5 years old, and my parents encouraged me to continue playing because it would keep me off the streets,” he said.
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He added that he always wanted to be a goalkeeper when he began to understand the sport and his favourite shot stopper is Manchester United’s David de Gea.
The goalkeeper also played a part in helping the national under-23 team qualify for this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite his performance between the poles, he still isn’t sure if he will make the cut to travel to Rio.
“I hope I make the team that goes to Brazil because you can never be too confident.
”Despite his age, February has already played for two seasons for Ajax’s senior team, which recently wrapped up its PSL season. He said he was thankful to his teammates in the senior team because they “help us youngsters a lot”.
Like any other aspirant footballer, February hopes to represent Bafana Bafana and to play for an overseas club. He said he would grab any opportunity to play overseas, no matter the club.
“Playing overseas is my main goal, and since I’m a Man U (Manchester United) fan. I would love to play for them one day, but I would take any break to get overseas,” he added.
Cape Argus